The Hindu Business Line : Nutrine Confectionery to expand product range

Slated for launch in the next couple of months, the company plans to introduce around four to five brands under this new candy range. It is currently installing a new process line at a cost of Rs 10 crore -12 crore at its facility at Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh.

Deposit candies, made popular by the likes of Perfetti's Alpenliebe brand, is called so because of the process it is made by where molten syrup is literally "deposited" into moulds and then taken through a cooling conveyor.

The candy made by this process retains its shine, smoothness and shape. "Today, a complete quality range of confectionery needs a deposit candy range," Mr Dwarakanath Reddy, Chairman, Nutrine, told Business Line.

He said that the company could either import the process line or have access to idle capacity available in the country.

Meanwhile, Nutrine is also adding another 600-tonne-per-month capacity at its factory. It now has a capacity to produce approximately 2,000 tonnes of confectionery a year.

Mr Vikram Reddy, Managing Director, said that the imported Bosch line for the expansion would compare well with the latest anywhere in the world. All investments will be made through internal accruals and term loans.

Nutrine, said Mr Vikram Reddy, has outpaced the market's sluggish growth of 5 per cent and grown by around 10 per cent. While it finished fiscal 2004 with a sales turnover of Rs 180 crore, it projects a turnover of Rs 200 crore for the current fiscal. Nutrine's Maha Lacto brand itself is a Rs 100-crore brand, he pointed out.

The company spends around 8 per cent of its sales on advertising and expects to maintain that spend. Its entire advertising vests with Mudra Communications.

In sugar boiled confectionery, Nutrine commands an approximately 28 per cent market share. The organised market for confectionery, chocolates and gums is Rs 1,600 crore while the sugar boiled confectionery segment is Rs 750 crore in which Nutrine leads. Almost 80 per cent of this market comprises products at the 50-paise price point.

Mr Siva Mohan Reddy, Executive Director of the company, said that Nutrine is distributed directly through four lakh outlets, but through the wholesale channel, the brand could cover 10 lakh outlets, he added.

Mr Vikram Reddy said that the company had made headway with its new product, Naturo, which is a dehydrated fruit bar. At present, the product is available in three flavours: mango, pineapple and apple. It will shortly be introducing grape and guava.

Naturo, priced at Rs 5 a bar, has been launched in the Mid-East markets and is being tested in Europe and the US. Mr Vikram Reddy said that the products made by a sister company, Nutrine Sweets Pvt Ltd, have tremendous potential.

The company set up a 120-tonne-a-month facility in Bangalore two years ago at a cost of Rs 13 crore.

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